John Ericsson

John Ericsson (July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother, Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Wermelandia, Sweden, but did primarily come to be active in the United States.

The USS Monitor

When the American Civil War broke out, the Southern states quickly began developing an ironclad based on the hull of the Merrimack which had been burned before the naval base at Norfolk had been capture. The United States Congress addressed this issue in August 1861 and recommend that armored ships be built for the Union Navy. At this moment, Ericsson presented drawings of the USS Monitor a totally unique and novel design of armoured ships, which after much controversy was eventually built and finished on March 6 1862. The ship went from plans to launch in approximately 100 days, an amazing achievement.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Merrimack - United States Congress - 1861 - USS ''Monitor'' - March 6 - 1862

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At this moment the Southern ironclad CSS Virginia was harvesting victories against the Northern fleet until the Monitor appeared. A battle on March 9 1862 at Hampton Roads in Virginia, ended in a stalemate between the CSS Virginia and the Monitor, saving the Northern fleet from defeat. After this numerous monitors were built, and are believed to have considerably influenced the victory of the Northern states. Many basic design elements of the Monitor were copied by future ship designers.

Related Topics:
CSS ''Virginia'' - March 9 - 1862 - Hampton Roads - Virginia - Monitors

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Later, Ericsson worked with torpedo inventions, in particular the Destroyer torpedo boat, and in the book Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition he presents the so-called "sun engines", using solar power as propellant for a "hot air engine". At this time, he was once again bitter and plagued by economic difficulties, and his invention of the solar engine would not have practical applications for another 100 years.

Related Topics:
Torpedo - Destroyer - Torpedo boat

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Although none of his inventions created any big industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential mechanical engineers ever. After his passing in 1889 his remains were brought from the United States to Stockholm by USS Baltimore and to the final resting place at Filipstad, in his Wermelandia.

Related Topics:
Stockholm - USS ''Baltimore'' - Filipstad - Wermelandia

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